Alpha Photography Blog

Photographing landscapes well can be trickier than you first imagine. Sure, you can take the standard shot without putting much thought into it, and end up with an image that looks like everyone elses.

But, there are a few tips which are easy to apply and can transform your landscapes…

Get Down Low

You can apply this in so many situations. The most common being angling up to photograph a building, but that’s still kind of ordinary. Try getting down low for a subject that you just normally wouldn’t see at that angle - flowers for example (see the photo below).

This also works for statues, even decorated Christmas trees amongst a city landscape. People may think you’re a little weird, but just squat down and look up, see what the difference is. The effect is fun - especially if you’re using a wide angle lens.

Be sure to keep your basic composition rules in mind - they will stand you in good stead and make your photo look different and fantastic.

Try Different Apertures

Depth of field is a concept that takes a bit of practice, and this is the perfect time to give it a go.  In a few posts time I’ll be going through depth of field in more detail, but for now, try each of these.  Firstly, find a landscape with a subject to focus on in the foreground - a person, animal, or even a flower. Make sure it’s a nice sunny day and you position the subject slightly off centre.

Now take 2 photos, where you’ll achieve a narrow depth of field in the first photo, and a wider depth of field in the second:

narrow depth of field

• Set your camera to manual mode
• Set your aperture to the widest setting (the smallest number - e.g. f4.5)
• Set your shutter speed so the exposure meter is in the middle (i.e. correctly exposed)
• Make sure the camera knows the subject is the focal point (each camera will indicate this slightly differently)
• Take the photo

wide depth of field

• Set your camera to manual mode
• Set your aperture to around f32
• Set your shutter speed so the exposure meter is in the middle (i.e. correctly exposed)
• Again, make sure the camera knows the subject is the focal point
• Take the photo

Now, take a look at your 2 photos. The first should have the subject in sharp focus with the background blurred out. The second should again have the subject in sharp focus, and this time much of the background will also be in focus.

Use these techniques and vary the aperture sizes and take note of each result. It will really help where you’re taking a landscape photo with a person, and you want both to be in focus, or you want to intentionally blur the background.

Straighten Your Horizon

Keeping the horizon straight makes a difference. Take a look at these photos. The first horizon is slightly downward sloping, while the second photo has a straight horizon:

The main problem with the first photo is the droopy horizon. It’s pretty subtle, but makes a difference. Many times it’s a matter of looking at an image and something not being “quite right”. Often it’s this problem, so keep an eye out for it.

As an additional piece of equipment, you can actually buy a ‘leveler’ , but if you find your photo doesn’t have a completely straight horizon, it’s easily fixed in photoshop

Rule of Thirds

Yes, I’m mentioning this again, the Rule of Thirds. This is particularly important for landscapes as the photo can look very flat if there’s nothing to frame the photo with.

Here is a photo taken from Montserrat outside Barcelona in Spain. The view by itself would have been nice, but pretty ordinary without the sculpture off to the left.

Where you have a person, or object that you want in the photo, move it to one side, but keep it in focus (generally this entails pointing the camera directly at the subject, half depressing the shutter, then realigning the shot to take the Rule of Thirds into account).

Black & White

Though not traditionally considered in the black and white realm, there are some situations where a landscape can almost be improved by converting it to black and white. The beauty of digital is that you can shoot in color and then convert to black & white on your computer afterwards - so much flexibility!

Take a look at these two cityscapes. The color version is interesting, but the textures are really enhanced when it’s converted to black & white.

You may not see it in this way when taking the photo, but have a play once you’ve downloaded your photos and have some time to convert them - it’s worth it.

More Tips

• Crop - don’t be afraid to move in on a subject. Not all landscapes are wide, rolling hills. Find something of interest (maybe even a tree) and get in close.
• Take your time - patience is something you’ll have to develop if you’re going to be serious about taking great photographs. You might just have to wait for that cloud to move on and allow the sun to shine again, or wait for someone to move out of the way so you have a clear view…
• Look for contrast in the subject and the style - for example, look out for these and try to capture them in the same frame - old and new buildings; bright colors and dull hues; people; dead trees with a green landscape.
• Stand in the shade to take the photo. This will avoid lens flare and add color saturation to your image.
• Use a tripod and slow down the shutter speed. See if you can get soft running water, or trails of car headlights at dusk.

These are some tips for immediately improving your landscape photographs. As with everything it takes practice, so be bold and try something different!

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